Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: A Sequel to Happy Birthday, Remus Lupin.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine. I only own the preciousss plot.

A/N: So, I decided to make a sequel to Happy Birthday, Remus Lupin. A happy one.

Akasha, Remus cannot carry a baby. I stated it very well in HBRL. As Remus was sterilized by the Ministry, he cannot father a child, either... Or so the Ministry thinks!

* * *

Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin

Chapter 1

* * *

It was early in the morning, and Remus had just waked to notice that he was alone in the bed. He sat up, looking around the room.

Suddenly, his keen werewolf hearing caught the well recognizable sound of vomiting. Slipping to the floor, he shivered at the sensation of the cold stone floor under his bare feet. Softly, so as not to wake James and Peter who were still asleep, he padded to the bathroom door.

"Sirius? Are you there?" he called through the door, even though he already knew who he was. Nothing short of a horrible disease could bring Sirius voluntarily out of bed before midday. In fact, the three other boys had taken turns in waking him in the morning. As Remus was the only one who actually could do that without half an hour of shaking Sirius, yelling at him, and finally dragging him out of the bed and under a cold shower, Peter and James just bribed Remus with chocolate to drag his boyfriend out of the bed every morning.

Now, however, Sirius was up by his own, and that meant that he had to be _very_ sick. The sound of throwing up just confirmed Remus's suspicions.

"Yes, I am," came finally the weak reply. As Remus entered the bathroom, he found Sirius washing his mouth, obviously trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth.

Remus walked to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Sirius's waist from behind. Hugging the other boy tightly, he asked, "Have you been ill for long?"

Sirius shook his head, having finished the washing. "Just this morning. I must have eaten too much yesterday."

Remus nodded grimly. The day before had been his sixteenth birthday - something he did not want to think about.

"Maybe you should go to Madame Pomfrey," he suggested, genuinely worried.

Sirius shook his head again. "I bet it's nothing," he said. "I'd only be scolded about eating too much candies and such."

"If you're sure," Remus said uncertainly. He had enough problems by himself, problems that Sirius was always ready to share. He didn't wish any more troubles to his beloved.

Through the breakfast, Remus kept a watchful eye on his boyfriend. Sirius ate a little, while he usually stuffed masses of food into his mouth, but Remus figured that it was just the still lingering nausea.

After breakfast, they went to the Charms classroom. To Remus, Sirius looked a bit pale, but nobody else seemed to notice anything out of ordinary.

Halfway through the lesson, however, Remus noticed that his black-haired boyfriend's wand wavered in the middle of casting a spell. As the charm had been almost ready, a shining bolt escaped the tip of the wand, and hit a nearby desk. In an instant, the whole class ran around in panic as the desk exploded as a result of the uncompleted charm.

"Silence!" Professor Flitwick piped up. "Mr. Black, what was that?"

"I -" Sirius began, then grasped on the desk next to him for support. Remus stepped forward to help him, but before he got near enough, his boyfriend collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

The werewolf knelt next to his boyfriend, lifting his head to his lap. The professor came nearer, looking worried.

"_Enervate_," Flitwick said, pointing his wand at Sirius. The black-haired boy blinked slowly, then sat up.

"Sirius!" James exclaimed, coming nearer with Peter behind him. "You really frightened us all!"

"I - Sorry," Sirius mumbled, then shook his head as if in an attempt to clear his mind. "Everything just went black as I was casting the spell.... Next thing I knew I was on the floor."

"You'd maybe better go to the Infirmary, Mr. Black," their tiny professor said concernedly. "Can you get there yourself?"

"I'll take him there," Remus said hastily. After receiving a nod from the professor, he collected both he and Sirius's books, stuffed them to his bag, and dragged his boyfriend out of the classroom by hand.

As they'd walked for some time, Remus's arm all the time securing Sirius, the black-haired teen stopped abruptly.

"Remus, listen to me," he said. "I have a rather good suspicion of what this is. So, whatever you hear me saying to Pomfrey, don't, and I mean _don't_ believe a single word of it. Okay?"

Although Remus did not understand, he nodded. "If you say so," he added uncertainly.

"Good," Sirius said, then collapsed again.

* * *

"Mr. Black, I know now what's wrong with you," Madame Pomfrey said seriously. "And if I'm right in my suspicions, I have rather bad news to you."

Sirius bit his lip and nodded, then watched the mediwitch, waiting for her to say something.

"You, I'm afraid, are pregnant."

Sirius's eyes widened in shock. "You aren't serious," he whispered.

"Unfortunately, I'm dead serious," Pomfrey said. "Now, I have just one question for you. Is the baby Remus's?"

On the other side of the Infirmary door, Remus was growing nervous. His lycanthropic senses allowed him to hear clearly everything that was said inside.

So, he now heard as Sirius's voice said quietly, "N-no... We've never slept together without protection."

With a great effort Remus put himself under control. 'Don't believe him,' he chanted to himself. 'I have made love to him without protection several times, he's lying like he said he'd be...'

Now, he heard again the mediwitch's voice, "I any other situation I'd be angry at you, but now, I'm merely relieved. If it had been his, the Ministry would have forced you to terminate the baby. You knew that, didn't you?"

"Y-yes," Sirius said meekly. Then he continued, with a bit stronger voice, "That's why I slept around... I can never have Remus's children, but I and he can raise a kid together, if it's somebody else's." He sniffed, then said, "I just hope Remus understands why I did it."

"So do I, Sirius," Pomfrey sighed, with real concern in her voice. "Really, so do I."

Then, sounds of footsteps approached the floor, and Remus hastily backed away from it. Sirius came out, traces of tears on his cheeks.

"What is it?" Remus asked, trying to sound like he knew nothing else was out of ordinary but Sirius's sudden illness.

"I'll tell you," Sirius mumbled with a teary voice. "Let's just get out of here." Then he dragged Remus out of the door to the corridor, the mediwitch's eyes still on their backs.

As soon as they were out of hearing, Sirius stood on his place. "It isn't true," he said hastily. "I haven't slept with anybody but you... But I could never abort our child."

Remus didn't say anything at first. Instead, he just hugged Sirius tightly. Then he said softly, "Thank you, Sirius."

"Hey, no thanking, dear," the other boy replied with a grin, even though it was a weak one. "You'll be sick of me being pregnant before the month's out, I'm sure. Besides, we still need somebody to cover up for us - or, more specifically, you."

Remus nodded in understanding. "We need a 'second father' at least until the pregnancy's too far to be aborted."

"And after it's born, they have to let us have it," Sirius added firmly. "Lycanthropic or not, it's always one of us who gets the custody over it."

Remus nodded grimly, then asked, "Have you thought about how you're going to ask James for the cover-up?"

Sirius shook his head, not surprised by the exact question, since James really was the only possible option. "Maybe we should play a loud breakup, the Ministry officials tend to be suspicious."

"I agree." Before Remus had time to say anything else, they heard a familiar voice shout, "Oi, boys! Wait for us!"

They stopped and turned around, seeing James and Peter running to them. Waiting for them to come nearer, Sirius hastily whispered to Remus, "You don't know anything yet, right?"

In response he got just another nod from Remus, but it was enough. Just then, the two other boys reached their side.

"What was it, Sirius?" James demanded as soon as got his mouth open.

Now, Sirius' expression turned grim. "Jamie, I have talk with you," he said. "With you, and Remus."

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," James said, still a bit astonished despite the thorough explanations. "You're up the duff by Remus, who was sterilized only days after he managed to impregnate you. Now, you want me to say I slept with you and am the brat's father so they won't force you to abort it, right?"

Both Remus and Sirius nodded. Then, Sirius said, "That's the only way... There's no way I could abort the baby, but if the bastards get to know that it's Remus's, they'll force me to it." There were tears evident in his eyes.

James nodded slowly. "I'll do it," he then said. "I take it that Peter isn't to know the truth?"

Sirius shook his head. "As dear as that boy is, he can't keep a secret to save his life."

"So..." Remus drew a deep breath, then suggested, "What about playing the breakup act now?"

* * *

Next Chapter:

The breakup act, Slytherin taunting, and fairy tales. Sweeeet.

Oh, and in case anybody's interested, the impossible is just about to happen - I'll update **Unexpected **in a couple of days. No, no kidding. It's true! Be delighted!

If I only could get that angsty RL/SB plot bunny typed down at first...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own them. I do own the future baby, though.

A/N: Don't worry about my updates, this is already written down, so I only have to type it. So, expect a chapter for a day, for the little time this goes on. :)

Oh, and this chapter has some mood swings and Slytherin-beating!

A DESPERATE DEMAND: Anybody knowing anything about **Karliya Malfoy**'s current whereabouts, please, tell me... I'm missing those stories! ::pouts:: Come back, do you hear, Karliya?

* * *

Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin

Chapter 2

The portrait door flew open with a loud bang, drawing the attention of everyone in the Gryffindor Common Room to the entrance. Everyone was surprised to see Remus Lupin running inside, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Remus!" came a shout after him, but the tawny-haired boy did not turn around.

Now, Sirius Black emerged from the portrait hole. "For Merlin's sake, listen to me, Remus!"

"NO!" came the furious reply. "I'm not listening to you, you - you fucking cheating WHORE!" After shouting this, he ran to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.

At these words, Sirius stopped dead on his track. Every pair of eyes in the room was nailed on him.

Lily Evans rose from her seat and walked to Sirius. "Sirius," she said slowly, "was Remus telling the truth?"

Very slowly, Sirius nodded. "Yes," he said. "I cheated on him... and not only that."

"What do you mean, not only that?" Peter asked, seemingly very shocked about this "discovery."

"Nothing of your business!" the black-haired teen snapped angrily.

"It damn well is!" Peter snapped back, showing some spine, which was very rare from him. "If you recall, Remus is my friend, too!" Then he fell silent, seemingly even himself shocked about his outburst.

Now, something seemed to snap in Sirius. "OKAY!" he roared, "I fucking slept with my best friend! And to add to that, I managed to get knocked up even though Remus is bloody STERILE!" With this, he ran after Remus.

James stepped in, eyeing everyone in the room. "If a word of this gets outside the House, I'll personally skin the one who told."

Everyone nodded, not doubting a word of his.

Despite James's threats, the word of Sirius's pregnancy and Remus's sterility slipped to a student outside of their House, soon becoming public knowledge. Teachers were pitying Remus and giving angry glances to the supposedly cheating Sirius as well as James, whose "paternity" was also well known among the inhabitants of the school.

After two nightmarous weeks of separation, Remus and Sirius finally "made up," thus convincing everyone about the true love between them. Even James gained some sympathy points by giving all his claims to Sirius's baby to Remus.

Right now, Sirius was five months along and very round. The two were walking in the corridor, Remus carrying his boyfriend's books.

Suddenly, a bunch of Slytherins came around the corner. Their eyes glinted with malicious glee as they saw the most usual victims of their taunts.

"Oh, I see that the public bitch has gotten a bit rounder," one of them shouted, and another added, "What's your problem, Lupin? Are you really so little a man that you have to take in your slut's bastard to have a child to call your own?"

The two Gryffindors merely walked on, determinedly ignoring the insults.

"I'm surprised it wasn't Lupin who got knocked up, since he obviously is more a woman than any girl in this school!"

"Shut up," Sirius spat through clenched teeth. Remus placed a calming hand on his arm, but he shook it away. "I did wrong, and I know it," he said to the Slytherins, "but you have no right to tease Remus about it!"

"We're not teasing him about the fact that you're pregnant," replied the Slytherin who'd spoken first. "No, we're just commenting on the fact that Lupin's not a man enough to have done it himself!"

Unfortunately, the Slytherins forgot one very important rule of surviving in the magical world: Never, ever make a pregnant person angry. If they'd just insulted Sirius, the over-hormonal teen would have most probably been in tears in no time and simply departed from the place. Now, however, they'd insulted Remus, the dearest thing in Sirius's life, thus making him angry.

And when a pregnant witch or wizard gets too angry, they tend to lose their control of magic, a wave of raw magical power hitting the reason of their mood swing. So, the previously so self-confident Slytherins were hit by an invisible force that sent them flying backwards. The ones who'd spoken flew against the wall, while the others were just dropped to the floor.

"Don't you dare to mess with me again," Sirius hissed. Then he strolled away beside Remus, still fuming.

As they some time later sat in the Common Room, Sirius lying on the couch with his head in Remus's lap, Professor McGonagall came in with a serious expression on her face.

"Mr. Black," she said, "it has been brought to my attention that you did magic in a corridor, seriously injuring some of your fellow students."

"Did not," Sirius mumbled sleepily in response. "They've been told not to make me angry... They insulted Remus." That was, in fact, true. As soon as Sirius's pregnancy had become public knowledge, all students had been told that as the pregnant teen didn't control his magic, he was not responsible of his doings. Therefore, anybody purposefully making him angry could only blame themselves.

"I see," the professor replied. She didn't doubt Sirius's words since she knew very well how the Gryffindors and Slytherins were bickering. "Well, try not to get so easily angry, okay?"

"Okay," he muttered, then curled on his side on the couch. Their Head of House got the hint, and with a strict nod for goodbyes, departed from the Gryffindor Tower.

"She gave up rather easily," Remus stated with a wondering tone.

"She just didn't want to piss me off," his pregnant lover replied. Then, Sirius fell asleep.

"...And then Little Red Ridinghood asked, 'But Grandma, why do you have so big teeth?' And the wolf replied, 'Because I want to eat a big piece of that apple piece in your basket. But at first we should wait for your real grandma, she's gone shopping.'"

"What kind of a fairy tale is that?" asked Peter curiously from his bed. "If I recall right, it didn't go quite that way when I was a kid..."

"Last time the wolf was killed, Sirius cried his eyes out," Remus told dryly.

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed defensively. "The wolf was cute, and that stupid girl could only blame herself if she couldn't tell the difference between her grandma and a hungry wolf!"

"Okay, okay, dear, calm down," the werewolf sighed. "What about if I read 'The Sleeping Beauty?'"

In response he got a satisfied nod. "But make it 'Sleeping Handsome' instead," Sirius then demanded.

"I don't know what's scarier," James said, stepping into the dormitory, "the fact that you are reading stories to an unborn child, or the changes Sirius wants you to make to them."

"A fetus can already hear and learn to recognize voices at this stage of pregnancy," Remus replied immediately. "And I happen to prefer thinking that _my_ child will know me when it's born."

"But it's not -" Peter began, but shut up immediately as James gave him a warning look. Last time somebody had dared to mention the "fact" of Remus not being the child's father, the unfortunate guy had found himself flying in the air with nothing but forty feet of thin air separating him and the hard ground. Fortunately to the poor target of Sirius's wrath, Remus was a forgiving character, as well as a skilled enough wizard to catch him with a levitating charm before those forty feet were over. Peter, however, might not be that lucky, or Remus might not be fast enough. Therefore, the blond boy kept his mouth firmly shut for the rest of the evening.

* * *

The Next Chapter: The Hogwarts Express, Remus's parents, and a surprise to Sirius.

And I'm still looking for Karliya.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Although I do own the plot and Michelle and Julian Lupin.

A/N: Don't worry, I will continue. And why? Because I've already written the whole thing into my notebook, all I have to do is type it down to my comp! ...If I only could be bothered...

* * *

Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin

Chapter 3

* * *

Rest of the school year went over uneventfully. Slytherins were wary, Remus was happy, and Sirius was round. By the time they went to the Hogwarts Express, his walking has turned into waddling. This did not please Sirius, and anybody saying a word about it would pay dearly.

Right now, however, Sirius was in no condition to beat anyone. He sat on the train bench, his hands resting on the round stomach, weeping pitifully against Remus's shoulder.

"There, there, love, don't cry," the werewolf murmured, his arms steadily wrapped around Sirius's shoulders. "You know it's not true, Sirius, you don't have to cry..."

"B - but what if it is?" sobbed the black-haired teen. "I don't want to lose my baby..." Then, he bursted into tears again. With a weary sigh, Remus pulled him into an even tighter embrace.

The reason for Sirius's current hormonal outburst was a thoughtless comment made by Lily. She'd just innocently mentioned the fact that male pregnancies resulted more often with a miscarriage or a still birth than usual female pregnancies. That had pushed Sirius over the edge to the fear of losing his child.

"Calm down, Sirius," James said, shooting a sharp glare towards Lily. "Madame Pomfrey said that your baby's all right, didn't she? I bet it's going to be a big, healthy baby that keeps you fussing over itself all day long." Sirius and Remus hadn't wanted to know their baby's gender. However, they'd decided that if it was a boy, he'd be called Keith Simon, and if it was a girl, she'd be Anna Kathleen.

Now, Sirius raised his teary eyes to his best friend. "Do you really think so?" he sniffled.

"Jamie's absolutely right," Peter assured him. "There's nothing wrong with your kid. Just a couple of months more, and you'll be making bottles to little Keith or little Anna."

Instead of tears, Sirius's face turned into a joyous smile. "Thank you, Wormtail!" he squealed, then flung himself forward to squeeze the smaller boy into his embrace.

"Erm... Sirius?" the blond boy asked meekly. "No offense, but I need to breathe..."

"You're calling me fat?" Sirius asked, his eyes again veiled with tears.

"He's not!" Remus said hastily. "Peter just meant that you're hugging him too tightly. Nobody could call you fat, dear, you're just beautifully round..." It took quite a lot of coaxing from Remus before Sirius calmed down. At last, however, he sat next to Remus, rested his head on his lover's shoulder, and fell asleep.

When they arrived to the King's Cross, Remus's parents were already waiting for Remus and Sirius. They'd been furious at first when they'd heard about Sirius's pregnancy, knowing that their son had been made sterile by the Ministry. However, as Remus had told them the truth about the baby being conceived before his fateful sixteenth birthday, their fury had turned into joy. As Sirius had nowhere to go, having run away from his home the previous summer, they now welcomed him with open arms.

"I'll take your trunks to the car," Mister Lupin said as he met the boys on the platform. "Your mother's outside as usual, Remus, take Sirius to her."

Remus nodded in understanding. His mother was a Muggle, and even though she could have come to the platform with her husband, she'd never felt comfortable there. "What about the other thing I wrote about?" asked the young werewolf then mysteriously.

A warm glint appeared in Julian Lupin's eyes. "That is in order, son," he reassured, ignoring the astonished expression on Sirius's face. "Now, go! Otherwise your mother will accuse me of keeping you for longer than I should have!"

As they hastied out from the platform, Sirius asked curiously, "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing special," Remus replied nonchalantly. "You'll hear it tonight, I -" Just then, they came out to the station, and rest of Remus's words were drowned into the warm embrace of Michelle Lupin.

As soon as Remus had been released from the embrace that without his lycanthropic genes would surely have broken many of his fragile bones, Mrs. Lupin turned towards Sirius. "Oh, my dear boy, you look wonderful!" she praised the teenager. "You're practically glowing!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Lupin," Sirius replied almost shyly.

"Call me Michelle," she replied, laughing full-heartedly. "You are a part of the family, dear. You've always been, but now you are that even more than before." Giving an approving glance to his round belly, she added, "It seems that you're bigger than I was when I was this far along with Remus. Are you sure it isn't twins?"

"Alas, no such luck," Sirius sighed, looking genuinely sorry about that. "Poppy said that it's just one child. Therefore, little Keith or Anna will be our only one."

"Lovely names you've chosen," Michelle smiled. "Now, however, we have to hurry to the car. Does your father have your trunks, Remus?"

"Yes, Mum," the werewolf replied. "He should be here at any moment once he gets through the crowd."

Like called to the place by Remus's words, Julian Lupin appeared as one of the seemingly endless line of people coming from the platform 9 3/4. Pushing the carriage with the boys' trunks next to the others, he eyed Sirius critically. Some Muggles were already giving curious glances at the pregnant boy, and that would not do.

"I'll simply cast a Concealment Charm on you," he decided at last. "Whenever you go out, you have to either have your belly concealed, or, preferably, be disguised as a girl."

"A girl?" echoed Sirius in shock. "Why would that be a preferable option?"

"Think about it, Sirius," Michelle said while her husband casted a charm, making Sirius look like his usual slim self. "The fetus is very vulnerable. If you walk around as a boy, sooner or later something will hit your hidden stomach, and that might seriously hurt your baby."

Paling instantly, Sirius took a hasty step backwards with his hands on his stomach, staring at Michelle like expecting her to fling a fist towards him at any moment.

"That's another reason," Remus said, pointing at the folded hands that lay on what seemed to be thin air. "I've noticed that you have a habit for that. People will wonder if you rest your hands in air."

"So you're against me, too?" Sirius grumbled, a threatening glint of tears in his eyes.

"No, my love, I'm not," replied Remus, reaching out a hand to wipe the tears away. "All I'm doing is protecting you and our baby... Sirina." With a mischievous grin in exchange of Sirius's scowl, he took his boyfriend by hand, leading him to his father's car.

* * *

The next chapter:

Remus has a question to Sirius (or, rather, The Question) which results with a quarrel between a hormonal Sirius and Ministry officials.

Just two chapters to go!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: They're still not mine. I only own the plot.

A/N: And, finally, the one before the last!

* * *

Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin

Chapter 4

* * *

"So, what's the thing you mentioned to your father earlier today?"asked Sirius later that night. They'd taken their trunks to Remus's room, where the bed had been doubled in size, put their things away, and now lay side by side on the bed.

"Well," started Remus, hesitating for a moment. Then he sat up and slipped off the bed. "I'd asked Dad to get something for you," he explained, crossing the room to a little table with a drawer.

"For me?" echoed Sirius curiously. "What is it?"

"This." Opening the drawer, Remus took out a tiny jewellery box. He walked back to the bed and fell to his knees on the floor in front of his astonished boyfriend. "Sirius Thomas Black," the werewolf said, opening the box and revealing the golden ring inside, "will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

For a moment Sirius sat in a stunned silence. Then he cried out, "Yes, oh, YES, Remus! Of course I'll marry you!"

Remus smiled and slipped the tiny ring into Sirius's left hand. "I thought that we could get privately married before the baby is born, if that's not too hurried for you," he said. Then, his expression turned darker as he added, "We have, however, still one thing in front of us before we can get married."

"Oh? And what is it?"

"The Ministry.

* * *

"Name?"

"Remus John Lupin."

"Race?"

"Lycanthropic."

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"Have you been sterilized?"

A dangerous glow flashed in Remus's eyes as he replied, "Yes."

"I see." The official glanced to his collague, then back at the young werewolf. "You're asking for a permission to marry a human, is this correct?" As Remus nodded, the man continued, "Is there any specific reason for your desire to get married in such a young age?"

"He's pregnant."

The official's eyes shot in an instant back up from the papers in his lap. "Pregnant? To _you_?" he asked sharply.

"Calm down, Jones," the other official said. "A boy named James Potter has claimed to be the baby's father, but he's given all his paternal rights to Mr. Lupin here."

"But what if he's lying?"

"Be reasonable, Jones," the other official said, sighing in frustration. "If he didn't know about Lupin's Lycanthropy, he wouldn't see any reasons for lying. And if he did know, why'd he go through all that trouble to protect a werewolf? No, the boy's just a bloody typical Gryffindor."

"Very well." Mr. Jones frowned down at his papers. "We have testimonies on your behalf from Albus Dumbledore, Poppy Pomfrey, and several other Hogwarts faculty members, as well as from your friends. Now, we still need Mr. Black's testimony before making the final decision."

* * *

"Mr. Black, Remus John Lupin has asked for a permission to marry you. Are you aware of this?"

"Well, seeing that I'm sitting here, with an _engagement ring_ in my hand, it's rather obvious that I am."

"Do you realize that Mr. Lupin is a registrated werewolf?"

"Yes, I do, and I don't give a damn."

"Ahem... Do you understand what will follow if you marry a lycanthrope?"

"Yes. Because of your racistic laws, we'll never have children together. Every third year I'll have to tell you whether I still want to be married to him. Remus cannot divorce me without my permission, but I may leave him whenever for whatever reason, and if we divorce, I'll automatically get the kid. Also, I'm responsible of all Remus's doings, his human rights basically depend on my opinion, and I'll have to explain my child why people are saying that Dad is not his or her real father... Shall I continue?"

"I think that's quite enough," the official replied dryly, although he looked a bit anxious at Sirius's response. "But do you realize the potential danger that Mr. Lupin causes to you as a werewolf?"

"That's nil. A werewolf never harms its mate, nor it harms the mate's child."

"You seem to trust Mr. Lupin very much," Mr. Jones said, a nasty tone in his voice. "If you really love him, why did you cheat on him?"

"Because you bastards sterilized him, I had to sleep with my best friend in order to have a child whom I could raise with Remus!"

Still, the official wasn't going to give in. Instead, he asked, "Was your only intention to be impregnanted?"

"Correct. And James was all the time aware of the fact that I just wanted a child, because, by James's knowledge, Remus was born sterile."

"Fine. Do you want to say anything before we make the final decision?"

"_Yes_. It's rather obvious that Remus is getting the worst hand in this - like he always gets in life. I, the so-called 'better person,' will have all power over him and practically no responsibilities at all in this marriage. If he truly wants to be bound by this bond, why would you stop him? He'd only be all the better tied under your laws. Plus, I'm eight and half months pregnant, currently very irritated, and very willing to marry Remus. Are you really sure that you want to make me _really_ angry at you by denying it?"

Mr. Jones took one look at the dangerous glint in Sirius's eyes - a sure sign of an on-coming wave of fury - and made his decision.

Half an hour later, the marriage certificates were signed.

* * *

The next chapter:

Remus and Sirius go for a walk. Then, however, the time has come, and Poppy Pomfrey gets a couple of pleasant surprises.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own the baby! Oh, and Remus's parents and the ice-cream lady. Everyone else is JKR's.

A/N: Why'd anybody get the impression it's more than one baby? ::is confused:: ::looks at the reviews:: ::looks at the last chap::

No no no, I didn't mean a couple of babies! ...Although that'd be cute too... You'll see what I meant once you've read this!

Anyway, this is the final chapter of the story. Yes, FINAL. And, at the moment, I'm not planning a sequel (not that I didn't have enough plot bunnies, but I have too many WIPs and stories-to-be to start writing yet another).

* * *

Happy Very First Birthday, Baby Lupin 

Chapter 5

* * *

"I want an ice-cream!" demanded the black-haired girl clinging on Remus's arm. 

"Sure, Sirina," the tawny-haired boy replied, smiling. "Then we have to get you one, eh?"

"Damn right," Sirius muttered, then waddled to the nearest ice-cream parlour, dragging his husband by the hand.

"And what would you want?" asked the woman selling the ice-creams. She seemed to be half bemused, half shocked at the sight of a young "girl" with a huge pregnant belly.

"I'll take a chocolate-peach-strawberry ice-cream," "Sirina" replied happily. "And my husband takes... What do you want, Remus?"

"Just simple vanilla for me," the werewolf replied, smiling slightly at the ice-cream lady's astonishment as she heard Sirius's name for Remus. It seemed that they were far too young by the woman's mind to be married or expecting a child. Well, fortunately, they weren't dependant on her opinion.

After getting their orders and paying the lady, they continued their walk, hand in hand, eating their ice-creams on the way. Remus kept his watchful eye on Sirius all the time. The darkhaired boy was due to give birth on any day. Of course, being Sirius, he didn't let that slow him down, going anywhere and doing anything he wanted.

Their little walk, however, went by without a new Lupin deciding to arrive. (They'd decided to simply settle on the Lupin name, since Sirius wanted absolutely nothing of his old family marking him and especially his child.) As Sirius was, unsurprisingly, rather tired, they just bid a goodnight to Remus's parents and went to their room to sleep.

Remus watched Sirius as the darkhaired teen fell asleep. He looked a bit odd with his masculine looks and pregnant belly - odd, but beautiful.

It was fascinating to think that this beautiful creature was his, his _husband_, and no one else's. The werewolf was well aware of the power Sirius now had over him, but he was also aware of the fact that Sirius would never use that power unfairly, and was happy about it.

Resting his hand on the round stomach inside which their little baby was growing, Remus fell asleep.

* * *

Remus awoke with a start as somebody was shaking him furiously. He opened his eyes, staring right into Sirius's distressed grey eyes. 

"Go and get Madame Pomfrey, and soon," his husband whispered frantically. "I think - I think that the baby wants out, now."

Jumping out of the bed, Remus hurried towards the fireplace, still in his pyjamas. As Sirius was still a student, Pomfrey, who had monitored his whole pregnancy, had wanted to be the one who helped him through the birth. Also, there were some practical reasons for this arrangement. Not only was it really complicated for Remus to get even inside St. Mungo's, but absolutely impossible for him to get inside the delivery room. Only if a werewolf was the one giving birth - almost impossible, thanks to the Ministry - they were allowed to enter the room. And as Sirius had demanded him to be present in the birth, the hospital was not an option at all. As soon as the mediwitch appeared to the flames, seemingly having been asleep, Remus blurted out, "Sirius - the baby - you have to come!"

As Poppy heard this, her eyes flew wide, all sleepiness disappearing from her face. "I'll arrive as soon as I get past the wards," she said hurriedly. "Tell Sirius to get on his feet and walk around the room, that should help a bit. Wake your parents, too - I know the neighbours won't be disturbed, there are enough wards around your house, but I think that your parents would like to know about the birth before they're startled awake by the baby's wail."

"Remus," came Sirius's pained groan from behind him. "Remus, help me... It fucking hurts..."

* * *

Many painful hours later, well after the dawn - in fact, it was almost noon already - Remus held a little bundle in his arms. Sirius had passed out in pain and exhaustion soon after the baby'd been born, so Remus had been alone left to hold the baby after Madam Pomfrey had cleaned him. 

Remus looked down at the tiny baby, a gentle smile on his lips. Little Keith was bigger than an average baby, but he was still small, and Remus was afraid of dropping the fragile creature at any moment.

'_My son,_' he though, stroking slightly the soft, thin hair. '_Our son, I and Sirius's. Who'd ever thought I'd be a father some day?_'

"Hey, Remus?" asked a quiet voice behind him. "Could you check the information in the birth certificate before I sign it?"

"Sure, Poppy," he replied in an instant. Securing the baby's head with his other hand, he turned towards the mediwitch, scanning the certificate quickly. At last, he nodded. "Everything is all right. You only have to change one thing."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "What's that?"

"You've signed James as the other father, and me as the legal guardian."

"Yes?" Poppy asked, frowning. "Isn't that correct?"

"No, it isn't," replied Remus with a slight smile. "You see, I _am_ the other father."

At first, the mediwitch looked confused. Then her eyes widened with sudden realization. "So you conceived him before you were sterilized?"

Nodding happily, Remus replied, "It appears so, since Sirius has never slept with James, or with anybody else but me." He gave her a little smile, and added, "I hope you're not angry at us for lying to you."

"Merlin forbid, no," Poppy replied immediately. "You did the absolutely only right choice. If you had told me, my duty would have been to tell the Ministry, and little Keith here wouldn't be." With a small smile, she continued, "I'd in fact suspected something like this. I've never thought of Sirius as a person who'd sleep with somebody else for any reason, at least not without telling you."

Remus nodded in agreement. "But now little Keith is here, and the Ministry has no say in his life," he then said, giving yet another loving glance to his first and only son. "For grace of Merlin, he's not burdened with my Lycanthropy, so no laws or restrictions tying me under other people's will are going to harm him."

Poppy gave him a tender gaze. "Sirius will do everything he only can as your husband so you'll have the same rights as anyone else."

"I know he will try, but I'll never have exactly the same rights as any so-called 'pure' human." With a quiet sigh, he stroked gently Keith's hair. "But now, Sirius has definitely deserved his sleep. It might be the best if I now went to inform my parents about the birth of their grandchild."

"You do that," she smiled. Then, she asked curiously, "May I ask whom you're going to make his godparents?"

"Well, Jamie's already promised to be a godfather," Remus told, his smile halfly returning. "And for the other one, well... We've talked about it a lot, and have come to a decision." As she nodded, encouraging him to continue, he said, "Would you want to be little Keith's godmother, Poppy?"

Immediately, she melted into a warm smile. "Of course, Remus."

"Good." They exchanged smiles, then he left the room, his son on his arm. As he walked in the corridor, he placed a tiny, gentle kiss on the baby's forehead. "Happy very first birthday, baby Lupin," he whispered.

Keith didn't reply, but his tiny lips curled into a smile in his sleep.

* * *

THE END

* * *

Unless I think of something else, the next in my Happy Holidays "series" is _Happy St. Valentine's Day, Sirius Black_. But whether or not that'll happen, we shall see! 

A QUESTION: Would you want the sequel of **To Stand Proud** be a RL/SB mpreg or RL/SB/SS threesome? 'Cause, I have an idea for both, but I'm only going to write one.

I hope you've enjoyed reading the story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And that is, very much.

Buh-bye, and don't forget to review!


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